Soccer Game to promote world peace canceled, two groups from Eritrea, one pro-government and one opposed, clash on field, Edmonton tactical unit responds
A riot broke out between two groups at a soccer tournament in Canada aimed at promoting world peace.
Anti-Eritrean government protesters and pro-government Eritrean supporters clashed on the field, Global News Canada reported.
Some rioters were armed with wooden sticks. Several of the 400 or so who clashed were being treated for minor injuries, the Edmonton Journal reported.
The Edmonton city police tactical unit responded to the scene to quell the violence. A video used by local media showed a police vehicle driving across the field as people scattered.
Police in riot gear stood between the rival groups after order was restored.
There were no reports of arrests.
The final of the Canada World Peace Soccer Tournament was canceled due to rain before the violence broke out.
Eight countries were represented at this year’s tournament — Brazil, Somaliland, Congo, Ethiopia, Namibia, Eritrea, India, and Senegal.
Eritrea, one of the world’s most repressive countries, marked 30 years of independence this month.
Festivals held by Eritrea’s diaspora in Europe and North America to mark the anniversary were attacked by exiles the Eritrean government dismisses as “asylum scum.”
Cars were burned, violent clashes broke out and dozens of people were detained.
People who fled the Horn of Africa nation say the violence against festivals in Germany, Sweden, and Canada are protests against a repressive government that’s been described as the “North Korea of Africa.”
President Isaias Afwerki, 77, has led Eritrea since it won independence from Ethiopia in a long guerrilla war. There have been no elections and there is no free press in the country.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
